Devilish Deal by Jenna Wolfhart

26

The day felt like it stretched out for years. I waited in the Legion’s meeting room while the demons hunted down the killer. After stopping by the cafe, Az and I had returned to Serena’s apartment to grab one of her shirts. The killer’s actions had given him an idea. If we had her scent, we might be able to find her before the trade tonight.

No such luck.

Phenex returned first with an apologetic smile. He tried to keep me distracted with a game of poker, but my heart wasn’t in it. I didn’t care if my hand won or not, so I kept throwing low number cards on the table. Valac drifted in second. He didn’t say a word. Just perched on a chair and frowned.

Slowly, the rest of the Legion arrived. Bael and Stolas were next, followed by Caim. Az was the last to walk through the door.

“I’m sorry, Mia.” His hands hung heavily by his sides. “We haven’t been able to find her.”

A twinge went through my heart as I stood on shaky legs. “Then, we’ll get her back with the trade. We have to.”

His lips lifted in the corners. “You really are brave.”

The compliment caught me off guard, and a sudden heat filled my face. I didn’t really know what to say or do or where to look. Definitely not at the other demons. They were probably smirking at me.

Clearing my throat was all I could manage.

“The trade it is,” Caim said, striding over to the ripped map they’d managed to tape back together. Slivers of it were still missing, but the pattern was clear. The killer had claimed far too many victims, and we couldn’t let him add to his collection. There was also that little issue of him running to Lucifer. If he spilled the beans about what the Legion was really up to here, the people of New York weren’t the only ones at risk. The future of this world was at stake. And this all depended on whether or not I could keep my shit together during the fake trade.

No pressure, right?

“But first, you two lovebirds need to go on your date,” Phenex piped in as he poked a finger at the West Village section of the map. “Rumor has it, our friendly neighborhood vampire mob boss will be dining at the Waverley Inn tonight. We’ve already booked you a table for eight.”

I swallowed hard, avoiding Az’s gaze. “Can’t this wait until tomorrow? After we get Serena back?”

“Afraid not, love,” Bael drawled in his charming British accent. “Word is that Lars is finalizing his list of invites first thing tomorrow. That info could be wrong, of course, but we’d rather not risk it.”

A date. With Az. While Serena was missing. And after what had happened between us last night. Still, I couldn’t ignore the repercussions. There were human souls on the line. Actual mortal lives. And it was too late for Az to find another human date that would be convincing enough. Besides, the idea of him taking someone else made me feel a little funny.

Not jealous, obviously. Just…funny.

Az glanced at his thousand dollar wristwatch and nodded. “If we want to get there on time, we need to head back to my apartment now. You’ll need to get changed.”

Frowning, I glanced down at my outfit. Faded, ripped jeans, a rumpled black tank, and my signature knee-high boots. Maybe he had a point. Not that I had any other options.

“Ah, about that. I have something.” Phenex winked and vanished out the door. Narrowing my eyes, I gave the others suspicious glares. I didn’t really like the sound of that.

“Where’s he going?” I asked.

“You’ll see, love,” Bael said with a wink.

“You guys bought me a dress. Didn’t you?”

“We love you, Mia,” Caim said. “But you can’t go out to a fancy dinner where you’re meant to convince a rich vampire to invite you to his exclusive ball wearing…that.”

“I am very comfortable.”

His grin widened. “Yeah, you look it.”

Az let out a low, menacing growl. “Maybe you two should go on the date. Your flirting would convince anyone.”

Phenex returned just in time to break through the tension. He held up a silver slip with diamonds sown into the neckline. The rest of the material shimmered like a waterfall as it moved. My mouth dropped open. That thing must have cost…who the hell even knew? I certainly didn’t. Definitely more than anything I’d ever owned, including my car.

My poor car. I’d sold it the second I’d arrived in New York.

“You want me to wear that?”

Az shot me a wolfish smile.

* * *

My boots paired with the dress nicely, and if anyone tried to tell me otherwise, I’d punch them in the face. Okay, I’d probably just threaten to sic my harmless pigeon on them, but I refused to wear heals. The slinky gown that cost as much as a Tesla? Fine. Heels? No fucking way. There was a supernatural murderer out there who wanted me dead. If I needed to run tonight, I had no intention of doing it teetering around on little sticks attached to the bottom of my shoes.

No thank you.

Az waited for me in the lobby of his building. He’d wanted to make a few phone calls, apparently out of my earshot. Once again, I got the sneaking suspicion he hadn’t told me everything yet. Maybe he never would. Az was a puzzle. A very dangerous, annoying puzzle. And as a human, I doubted I would ever have all the pieces to solve him.

When the elevator whirred open before me, I caught sight of his suited back. The silky material stretched tight over his muscles, accentuating that raw power he carried with him everywhere. His damp dark hair curled across his neck. One strong hand clenched into a fist while the other held a phone to his ear.

Slowly, he turned to face me. The scowl on his face melted as his eyes sparked with light. He murmured a few words into the phone and then slid it out of view. I swallowed hard. Everything about him was eye-wateringly hot. The light stubble on his sharp jaw. The sleek cheekbones. The flaming crystal eyes. His hands. His body. My god, everything.

And he was looking at me like he wanted to eat me up. After last night, I very much wanted to let him.

No, my mind screamed at me. That had been a drunken mistake. It didn’t mean anything. It would certainly never happen again. We had a determined path ahead. Save Serena. Rescue the human souls from sacrifice. Prevent Lucifer from finding out about any of it. And then I would go on my merry way.

But for tonight…I was Az’s fake date.

“Hello, lovely,” he said with a wicked smile curving his lips. My stomach squeezed. Lovely. It squeezed a second time when I spotted his dimples had made a rare appearance.

With a deep breath, I took his offered hand. Warmth flooded my belly, and a zing shot up my arm and into my heart. He pulled me toward him and brushed a strand of my curled hair behind my ear. I rarely did much other than let it hang loose and messy around my shoulders, but I’d made a bit of effort tonight.

To be convincing for the vampire mob boss, of course.

“You look captivating,” he murmured.

“Thank you. You aren’t ugly.”

Smiling, he tugged me toward the door. “Our table is booked for eight. We only have fifteen minutes to get there.”

I hurried after him. As soon as we climbed into the car, he stretched an arm behind my head. I could almost feel the heat of him burning against my neck. The car rumbled into drive, and soon, streetlights flared through the windows as we spun downtown.

“Relax.” He massaged the back of my neck. The sudden contact made my thighs clench.

“I’m not going to relax until Serena’s safe.”

“Fair enough,” he said. “But try not to show it, if you can. We don’t want Lars to have any suspicions about us. If you’re on edge all through our dinner, he’ll know something is up.”

“Maybe he’ll think I just have date nerves.”

“You’re supposed to be my live-in girlfriend, Mia,” he said in a delicious purr that made chills sweep across my skin. “By now, you shouldn’t be so nervous.”

I turned to face him, my heart throbbing. “It’s not you I’m nervous about. It’s Serena. It’s this vampire mob boss. It’s me being bait tonight. You are the last thing that would cause me nerves right now.”

My lungs froze as I held my breath, waiting. He still hadn’t mentioned what had happened last night. How long could he dance around it? Was he worried I would think it meant more than it had? Or was he waiting for me to bring it up? Ha! Hardly. Az wasn’t the kind of guy to wait for anything.

“Well, then just focus on me for a couple of hours, lovely.” His wicked smile burned right through me.

The car slowed to a stop outside of the Waverley Inn. The driver opened the door for the both of us, and we headed into the restaurant. Inside, the lights were dim, and the clinking of glasses mixed with a soothing folksy music filtering in from hidden speakers. The elaborately-painted walls were lined with quiet maroon booths and small pockets of tables were dotted throughout a larger room beside a bar. It screamed old money.

A brunette smiled at us from behind a podium. “Last name, please?”

“Asmodeus,” my date replied with a smile.

“Ah.” The girl flushed bright red and grabbed two menus from the rack behind her. Her eyes darted to his chest. “Of course. So sorry. Right this way, sir.”

My eyebrows shot up my forehead as we followed her to a small corner booth. As soon as she bustled away, I couldn’t help but ask. “What the hell was that?”

“This is a popular locale with the supernatural community. Most of the waitresses here are fae. She’ll know who I am.”

She looks like she creamed herself.

I didn’t say that out loud. Frankly, I didn’t blame her. As long as she kept her hands to herself.

When I opened the menu, I couldn’t help but sneak a few glances around the place. It didn’t take me long to find him. Lars sat in the far left corner in a booth slightly larger than ours. A few other men sat with him. Also vampires, I was assuming. They all wore their brown suits, their tattoos, and their piercings. One of them gazed across the restaurant with red-lit eyes.

Shivering, I ducked behind my menu and wondered—not for the first time—what the hell I’d gotten myself into.

“Why does he have red eyes?” I hissed at Az through the menu.

He pushed the paper down, and it took all my self-control not to grimace. We’d come here to be seen, but the idea of those vampires watching me made my skin itch.

“He’s hungry,” Az said in a frank tone of voice that I didn’t feel properly conveyed the severity of that statement.

“Hungry,” I repeated.

He turned back to his menu. “Sometimes, this restaurant caters to those with varying tastebuds. Have you decided what you’d like to order?”

I swallowed down the urge to jump to my feet and get out of this restaurant as quickly as possible. They served human blood here. No way I wanted to put anything they cooked into my mouth.

“Pancakes,” I said tensely. “With ice cream.”

Az cracked a grin. “I’m afraid they don’t do pancakes here. Mia…”

“Yes?”

“Relax.” He pushed up from the table and joined me on my side of the booth. As he slung an arm around my shoulders, my heartbeat kicked up into the next gear. A moment later, his hand disappeared into the inside of his jacket, and then he fished out a small black box.

It looked like a damn wedding ring box.

“Whoa,” I hissed. “Wait a minute. We didn’t agree to take things this far.”

With a chuckle, he snapped open the lid. The signet ring twinkled at me from within folds of black silk. His seal practically glowed with firelight.

“I want you to have this,” he said as he took the ring from the box and pressed it into my hand. “It will help keep you safe tonight.”

My heart thumped. “I thought there was nothing to worry about.”

“There isn’t,” he said. “But just in case something goes wrong, I’d rather you hold onto that ring than me.”

I squeezed my fingers around the treasure. “Okay. I’ll admit. Having this does make me feel better.”

“Good.” His hand gripped the back of my neck, and suddenly, his lips were on mine. Chills burned across my skin as desire coiled in my gut. I fisted my free hand around his suit jacket, breathing in the scent of his flames. Hunger tore through me, matched by the intensity of his kiss.

When he pulled back, he gave me a wink. “If that doesn’t convince him, I don’t know what will.”